GolfHos

What is your favorite race to look back on and why?

Dale Sr's last win at Talladega, where he came from DEEEEEEP in the field with 10 or 15 laps to go. As much as he held plate racing in disdain, he was still a master.

Pretty much any night race at Richmond is a favorite as well...

Boogity, boogity, boogity!


I guess the '01 Daytona where we lost Sr., since it's the only one I can remember seeing flag to flag.

The one where they turned left for hours on end.

Why do you hate Watkins Glen?

Almost forgot!

Cole Trickle's win at Daytona was pretty incredible as well!




Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!

'Cause it's a shorter track?  (I am remembering that correctly, right?)

1998 Daytona 500. Dale Sr's one and only "Super Bowl" win, after something like 19 or 20 years of trying.

You either hated Sr or loved him, regardless, you always respected him. At the end of the race he drove down pit road and EVERY man on EVERY crew went out to give him a high five as he drove by. I still get weepy when I see replays of that.

I was quite ready to ask you what was so impressive but, for some reason of which I don't know, decided to head over to wikipedia first.  Movies don't count. :P

Yes, I remember that one too. But I didn't catch it all since I was watching paint dry or watching the grass grow or something like that.  ;D

Yup, 3/4 mile under the lights, you can almost smell the stale beer and gas fumes in HD.

Oh joy, the smell of stale beer....  I can't exactly say that sounds appealing or thrilling.  You still have some work to do before I'm completely convinced it's more than cars going around in circles, you know, and you may want to try another tactic 'cause, if you stay with that one, you're going to fail miserably.

February 17 is less than 2 weeks away.  If I'm going to be anywhere near being a bona fide card carrying NASCAR gear head as Seamus was saying, the lessons had better recommence soon.  And it looks as if they're going to have to be crash courses, too.  Actually, a crash doesn't sound like a good thing in this case, so maybe just highly intensive instead. :D  Anyway, since you guys didn't leave much opportunity for questions in this thread, you're going to have to come up with your own material.

(http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6841/shakeandbakeer4.jpg)

Hoo wee!  They ain't nothin' like runnin' 'er wide open at two hundred my linauer.

.......he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you.  He rubbed you.  And rubbin' son, is racin'.

Here's my key to watching Daytona:

Ignore qualifying. Restrictor plate cars alone on the track are no indication of how they will perform in a pack.

Pay attention to who was able to move up in the late laps of the 125's. Those drivers and teams will be the ones to move into a winning position for the last 25 laps for Sundays race.

Watch the first 50 laps Sunday, turn it back on every 45 minutes or so, and then just watch the last 25 laps. That's when everything that matters will happen.

What are restrictor plate cars?

Oh, and btw, my comment wasn't necessarily about the Daytona per se, just that that seemed to be the goal for finishing my lessons.  I'll keep those tips in mind, though. :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictor_plate_racing

Some people don't like it, but I do.

You just put the hammer down, and run 'er full out all the way around the track.

I didn't want to run to wiki.  The NASCAR enthusiasts that write the articles write as if the person reading them has enough background in NASCAR to understand what they're saying.

Okay, okay... I'll go read the article. :D

So those little restrictor plates, are they inserted into the engine before the qualifier and taken out afterwards?  Or were restrictor plate cars specified because they use a race a different car during the qualifier than they do in the race?

It's a product of the size and shape of the racetrack, as well as the power of the car.
Safety, and and attempt to completely level the playing field.

At 2 and 1/2 miles the car with 750 horse power would reach speeds close to 300 miles an hour, and fly off the track.  The restrictor limits the amount of gas and air the engine can get, basically choking it.  they run about 430 hp.

The cars show up with the plates on, and they stay that way until the race ends on Sunday.

Okie-dokie.  So the plates are on for everything not just the qualifier.  I messed that up in my head somehow.

Another question: what was the very first NASCAR race?

The official history is that Feb 15, 1948 at the Daytona Beach course was the first NASCAR race, but it was actually for what are now called modifieds.

North Wilkesboro in 1949 was the first race for the 'Strictly Stock' division, which became Grand National and later Winston/Nextel Cup.

actually, Sprint cup isn't really like racing......i mean.... the announcers make it sound interesting on tv and all but if you really mean racing.... you gotta head on out and get "dirty" and go to your local short track.  410 sprints if you can find 'em.....          http://chasinracin.com/track-locator/states/mn.shtml

Uh oh birdsboro sounds like a MFAWG jr.

Well, thank you. :)  Right now, I'm just trying to learn about racing in general.  The guys here at GH managed to talk me into watching a few races last year, and it was more interesting than I thought it would be.  (It also helped to have someone around answering my questions during the race.)  I don't think I'll be heading out to any tracks yet, but the link come in handy if I ever decide to go to one.

I was rather hoping that they would start in with the history and then gradually onto mechanics and such, but they're being too specific in their answers and not leaving much room for a follow up question.  Too bad for them that I thought of a couple anyway. ;) :D


What were the surrounding events for the first race (how was it decided where it would be, who it would include, etc.)?  Oh, and who won?

IIRC from last year, EAGLE is fairly close to one of the Wisconsin dirt tracks that runs multiple OW shows a year, but I can't recall which one.

I seem to recall that Birdsboro is an Indiana boy from FGI.

Seamus, are we going to Skagit this year and play Avalon?

You actually think I would cross the border?!? [sm_shock]

;)

I didn't check back in on this thread, I didn't see this question, sorry. Uh...Yeah we are,  you name it and I'm there.

Looking forward to my horizons being broadened, nuttin' like the smell of burning rubber and high octane gas at your local racin' 'stablishment.

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